


Five Nerds Play “Dungeons And Dragons” But Two of Them Are in Love

by FreckledSkittles



Series: Magic In The Air [2]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Banter, Dungeons & Dragons Campaign, Dungeons & Dragons References, M/M, Magic, Mike Dodds Lives, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Other, Paladins, Sorcerers, because i fucking said so, blood mention for a few seconds, but nothing life-threatening, sonny and rafael in love no matter what universe theyre in, were back at it boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSkittles/pseuds/FreckledSkittles
Summary: Every three months, on the second Saturday, there is a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for five people: two lawyers, a Lieutenant, a detective, and a park ranger. And every three months, on the second Saturday, the issues of a broken world are addressed by a party of five: two paladins, a ranger, a rogue, and a sorcerer. This is their campaign.(I didn't know what to name this I'm sorry)
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Series: Magic In The Air [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622086
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6
Collections: April 2020 Barisi Bingo





	Five Nerds Play “Dungeons And Dragons” But Two of Them Are in Love

**Author's Note:**

> My second Barisi Bingo fic and the event is almost over? I know, I'm an idiot, Animal Crossing rules my life, don't worry about it
> 
> But yeah this is a sort of continuance of the first D&D inspired fic I wrote in October! You don't need to have read the other one to read this, if only because these two are in the same universe but do not reference each other. That one took place more in the D&D realm with references to "reality" but this one plays with both  
> I really love this AU and this was super fun to write, especially with the two different perspectives! Apologies in advance in case anything gets confusing: it goes back and forth a bit
> 
> So for anyone interested: this story is told with both the campaign universe and the actual D&D universe happening at the same time. Some of the things that happen when playing D&D, like dexterity checks or turn-based fighting, are shown as if they are part of the universe. So, for instance, if they were sneaking around, how successful they roll is determined by how much they're heard by whatever they're trying to avoid
> 
> NOTE: I have only dabbled in D&D and have only played one campaign (unfortunately bc I loved it, I was a lesbian elf bard who wanted to make stories for her elf rogue wife back home) so my knowledge is still limited. Some details may be off or vague because of this. I did try my best and I looked through the official handbook and a number of related guides online to figure out how to write this piece, since it features the game mechanics more than the other one I wrote
> 
> I hope you enjoy!! <3

Every three months, on the second Saturday, there is a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for five people: two lawyers, a Lieutenant, a detective, and a park ranger. And every three months, on the second Saturday, the issues of a broken world are addressed by a party of five: two paladins, a ranger, a rogue, and a sorcerer. This is their campaign.

* * *

“I’m almost unconscious,” Mike grumbles.

“Have you thought of rolling better?” Sonny says.

Mike glares at him from the other side of the table. “Have you thought of actually using spells that are useful to a campaign?”

“You were the one who told me that paladins don’t need to know so many spells!” Sonny snaps. “And when I brought up the fact that you’re better at that stuff than me, you said not to worry about it!”

Rafael looks at them over the divider in front of him, hand resting under his chin as he glances between Sonny and Mike. “Are we done, boys?”

Nick, munching on a chip, points to the blue-and-green die on the table in front of him. “I rolled seven for damage.”

Rafael, still keeping an eye on the two men he sits between, makes a note for it. “Your lizard person is down to two health. How much movement do you have left?”

“Enough to get a potion of healing and give it to Dara.” Amanda, who had started to sink further into her seat as the rounds continued and the bickering increased, looks up at her wood elf’s name. Both Mike and Sonny protest at that, but Nick only shrugs and eats another chip. “She hasn’t been complaining for the past five minutes.”

Amanda leans forward, pushing the paper plate with the remnants of the nachos Mike had made across the table and just missing her dice. “Do you wanna know why I haven’t complained, Nick?” She murmurs and beckons him closer so she can stage-whisper, “Because I was the one who wanted to roll for Investigation in case we were ambushed in lizardfolk territory.”

“First off, it has not been five minutes,” Sonny frowns; Mike nods in agreement. “And second, the amulet can only last outside of a magical seal for forty-eight hours, so if we don’t hurry and charm it properly, we could cause a fissure in the earth and rip the world apart.”

“It’s an Investigation check, not a reading break!” Amanda snaps. “How long do you think it would have taken?!”

Rafael picks up the die behind his divider and rolls them. “I use Repelling Blast to fire my lizardfolk into Nick’s,” he states, checking the numbers on the dice, “and knock mine unconscious and kills Nick’s.” He looks between Mike and Sonny, the two who have yet to roll for this round, and gestures to the dice in front of them. “Your turns.”

Sonny sighs and picks up his twenty-sided die. “I’ll give my healing potion to Tam.” He cups his hand as he rolls the die onto the table and writes down the number. “I take a jab at a lizardfolk soldier for ten damage.”

Rafael rolls for the monster behind the divider. “You break his shield, and your hit is strong enough to get him to eight health.”

“My Branding Smite is still active,” Mike adds as he rolls, “so I can hit him with my sword to knock him unconscious with six damage and strike him down for good with radiant damage.”

* * *

The lizard person yells as Mike’s sword swings across its belly, sparking and humming from the astral energy he had bestowed upon it. It falls back and slaps at its chest, as if to calm down the radiant slash, and wobbles on its feet. Amanda downs the potion Nick had given her and aims another arrow at it, ready to take it down as soon as it straightens up. As soon as the humanoid lizard grounds itself and looks at them, Amanda releases the arrow and lodges it right between the lizard’s eyes. It goes down with a gurgle and a twitch but stays down, eyes glazed over as dark maroon pools from the wound.

“Nice hit,” Nick says, brandishing his dagger and moving in close to the humanoid lizard circling Sonny. The lizard person bites at them but only gets the tail ends of their sleeves; its movements are desperate now, its eyes shifting between the five. They fight in packs, always for survival, so there’s no doubt the lone soldier is aware of how painfully alone it is and how much fighting it will have to do to keep alive. Unfortunately, it is the step back from them that Nick strikes, and he stabs his dagger through its jaw and across its throat with a quick flick of his wrist. The lizard goes down with a howl, piercing the air around them and disturbing a few birds overhead, and is dead before it hits the ground.

Nick steps back and wipes the blood off his dagger with the end of his cloak. Mike and Amanda, both injured, prop themselves up against tall trees surrounding them in the thick forest outside of the swamps they had trudged through. Rafael proceeds to heal them both, assuring Mike that he can spare the magic and convincing him to stay in place. Sonny sheathes his sword and takes a look around at the fight they had just participated in. The smell of scaly swamp creatures will surely hang on the clothes under their armor for days if not weeks.

“There should be more,” Nick points out. He scans the area, yellow eyes narrowing at the trees surrounding them for any sign of a disturbance. “Five is a small group for them. The rest of their pack should have swarmed us. Why aren’t there more?”

“They aren’t pack hunters,” Rafael states, barely looking up from the healing incantation he’s performing.

“No, but you said the ones in this area do.” Nick glances over at him when Rafael pauses the casting and looks up at him. “Why else would it be deathly quiet?”

* * *

Rafael eyes the four in front of him but lingers on Sonny and Mike for longer. “Does anyone want to do an Intelligence check?” He asks.

“If Marth and Tam aren’t going to railroad me,” Amanda scoffs, “then yeah, I’d like to.”

“We weren’t railroading you,” Mike shoots her a glare. Sonny tosses a chip at her in lieu of a verbal response. It falls in her hair and she flings it back with as much aggravation.

“To be fair, humans don’t have strong senses,” Nick points out. Amanda laughs when Mike and Sonny simultaneously protest the bias against them for their human characters. Nick only shrugs and smirks at them. “I’m not wrong!”

“If you guys want to, you can have at it,” Sonny says, arms raised in front of him. “I dunno how much good it’ll do, but if you two think you know more than us, go right ahead.”

“I’m a ranger,” Amanda scoffs. “Do you know what the root word is in ‘ranger’? And we’re both non-human, so our senses can pick up more than yours and Mike’s.”

“Okay, but just because you can shoot an arrow really well doesn’t mean you can see the edge of the forest.”

“It does when I’m a wood elf! Who knows forests better than me in this entire room?!”

* * *

“Shush,” Rafael quiets them, raising a glowing hand and eyeing the distance. Nick is zeroed in on something he can’t see, but from the tense shoulders and crouched stance, it’s not friendly. Amanda and Sonny both stay silent, the former reaching for her bow while the other kneels down to tighten his shield around his arm and the armor on his calves. Rafael’s voice borders on a whisper, eyes never straying from the direction Nick is facing. “Something’s here.”

* * *

The Dungeons and Dragons campaigns had become a regular thing by the time Nick had moved to California. Even with the thousands of miles between them, they prepared campaigns in-person and over Skype every month, alternating who was visiting who. They had a few other friends outside of work come and join them but none of them stuck with their trio for long. When Mike had joined SVU, finding a good addition to their party was almost as perfect as finding a person who fits their work family.

Rafael had become the Dungeon Master by Sonny’s choice more than his own. Mike had taken charge once the previous DM moved to Oklahoma, but Mike quickly missed playing the game as a player without the added benefits as Dungeon Master. Sonny had only suggested Rafael when they couldn’t think of anyone they were okay with letting in. They had a good dynamic, even if Amanda’s wood elf Dara and Nick’s secret tiefling Gloom were always fighting each other and with Mike’s paladin Tam and Sonny’s paladin Marth risking their lives with each roll they made. But they needed someone to guide them, and Rafael was the best choice.

Or maybe Sonny was biased, considering the fact that they had been dating for over four years when Sonny popped the question and gave Rafael a three-weekend-long lesson on how to play D&D and play it correctly, as well as participate as a Dungeon Master. The rewards in kisses and other intimate activities were more than enough to help ease Rafael into the position, which only grew when he saw how much Sonny wanted their characters—Marth and Arcas—to be together as much as they themselves were.

Rafael’s voice is soft throughout the entire description. He speaks almost as enchanting as the spells their characters use, weaving words together and spinning them around with a soft turn of his head or a quick glance at his audience. “Through the trees, a figure emerges—it’s a few inches taller than the lizardfolk soldiers we had fought, but it wears more armor than its subordinates, specifically on its arms and shoulders. It holds a pronged spear that gleams with magic in one hand and a spiked shield in the other. It has not noticed us, but its snout is in the air like it’s searching for us. And if it is, it’s only a matter of time before it senses us. So,” Rafael looks at each of them, “what do we do?”

“I vote for not fighting it,” Amanda says, almost immediately after Rafael finishes. “Two of us are still recovering from the previous fight and we’re low on energy and supplies.”

Sonny nods. “I agree.” He frowns when Amanda and Nick give him mock looks of surprise. “What, am I supposed to disagree?”

“Up until now, it seems like you were disagreeing just to disagree,” Nick chimes in.

Rafael steps in before anyone says anything else and breaks into another fight. “Alright, so if we decide not to fight it, how are we retreating? We still have to return to our base.”

“We can go around it,” Mike suggests. “If we keep our distance and curve around it without it seeing us, we can hopefully escape and find a place to rest.”

“What if it sees us?” Amanda counters. “You think we could take it on?”

“Not if it has to choose who to follow. If it spots us and we separate enough, then it might take long enough to decide who to pick a fight with and give us the time to escape.”

Rafael nods and looks around the room once more. “If no one has any objections,” he pauses to let any protests be heard, but none come. He nods and picks up two dice—one for his sorcerer and the other for the enemy. “Good. Investigation checks first, then we’ll make a stealth check as we move.”

* * *

The lizard person raises its snout in the air and takes another long sniff, tilting its head as it does. It’s still a distance away from their party, but that doesn’t mean it won’t pick up their scent before it spots them. Rafael and Mike lead the group to their left, always keeping an eye on the shadowy figure ahead of them. They take extra precautions to step back each time they sidestep away from the reptilian soldier. It may not completely take them out of trouble, but it can give them the chance to prepare if they’re caught.

Although the forest is dense, they still remain on the outskirts of the swamp and the ground beneath them is clogged from a late-night rainfall. The weight of the leaves clumped together deafens their footsteps at the very least. If they keep walking at a steady pace, they could avoid conflict altogether.

Amanda keeps her bow out; Sonny still has his shield strapped to his arm, but his sword is sheathed. Nick relies on his thief background to stay surrounded by shadows and keep his footsteps light. If the lizard noticed them, he could slip away unnoticed and try to distract the reptile from the rest of the group.

“At least we can’t smell it,” Sonny mumbles. He falters when the lizard steps toward them, head raised in the air and tilting ever so slightly towards them, but a nudge from Amanda keeps him moving. “Why hasn’t it looked at us? Don’t they have darkvision?”

“It’s not a common lizardfolk,” Rafael points out. “If it were, it would have seen the bodies we left behind. It probably has a rank in their armed forces. Their senses are duller but their fighting skills are higher.” A branch snaps under their feet and the lizard whips its head toward them. The group stops instantly, frozen and crouched in place. A deep snarl from the lizard breaks the silence. It creeps forward in their direction. Rafael keeps them moving sideways, but they’re practically walking backward now, each step wider and reaching more than the last.

“I can distract it,” Nick states in a low voice.

Rafael shakes his head but doesn’t verbally respond. His eyes haven’t strayed from the humanoid figure to make up for the number of times Mike turns his head to see where they’re going. Sonny would guess they’re nearly halfway to being fully behind the lizard, but there’s an anxious pit in his gut that tells him differently. They still have a way to go before they’re completely in the clear, and even if they make it without conflict, they would have to watch their backs to make sure they aren’t being followed.

There’s another crack of a twig or branch, but this time, the lizard person catches it and the source. The growl it emits is louder this time; it hops in place once before it dashes forward and heads right for them. Sonny, Mike, and Amanda instantly switch into a battle stance, and Nick starts to crouch in preparation to jolt, but Rafael steps in front of them and raises a glowing red hand. A shield springs up in front of them, spreading in front of them like a wall. Unfortunately, the humanoid monster crashes into the shield, and it shatters into bits of magic dust under his fingers. Rafael takes a step back to gear up another spell, Mike already securing his shield and preparing his own spell to use, but the reptile swipes across Rafael’s chest with the spear and tears at the front of his cloak.

* * *

Rafael stares at the dice hidden by his divider, eyes blank and body unmoving. The four others at the table wait in silent expectation to see the result. Per the rules of D&D, there were dice rolls during battles to determine how much damage was given or taken. Rafael, overall, fared well with damage rolls, but he had never taken so much time to announce his results.

With a withdrawn sigh and a scribble on his paper, Rafael looks up at his party members. “I am at one point of health.”

“How?!” Amanda chokes on a breath. Sonny’s eyes widen when Rafael holds up the garnet-colored die for proof. “How did you roll that bad?”

“I’ve seen it happen before,” Mike sighs. “I played a dwarf barbarian who had bad luck. I only ever rolled like shit with her.”

“So you’re dead?” Sonny asks with a frown.

“I’m on the verge of death,” Rafael corrects.

“So you’re dead.”

“If it’s going for a full-on attack like that, should I surprise it from behind?” Nick asks.

“I can try and distract it if you do,” Amanda says, already grabbing her dice and eyeing her list of current items on her.

Nick nods. “That could work. Just keep it walking towards you and facing you.”

Amanda rolls while Mike picks out a spell he can use from the ones available to him. Sonny just looks at Rafael, who is still staring at the tabletop with such devastation. In the time since becoming their DM, he had grown attached to Arcas and their party. Sonny understood from experience with his character Marth and his own feelings about Rafael’s sorcerer. He felt the loss of their sorcerer as a party member and a boyfriend.

* * *

Amanda keeps her bow aimed at the lizard person’s head, occasionally firing what little arrows she had but not trying to hit him. The reptile follows after her and swings its tail at her but nothing more. She’s quicker than the jabs it takes at her with its spear. Nick keeps his distance but trails behind them, waiting for the proper moment to attack, while Mike picks up the arrows Amanda fires and cycles them back to her, using just enough of a swing from his sword to get the lizard’s attention when Amanda has to reload or dodge an obstacle. Sonny, rather than help them, kneels beside Rafael and eyes his chest. His robe is ripped in the front and on the sides, the burgundy suit underneath the robe blending with the blood coming from the wound. His eyes flutter when Sonny grabs his hand and moves closer. At the very least, he’s still conscious—though barely—and hanging on.

“Hey, you’re alright,” Sonny whispers. The wound across doesn’t look too deep, but with a spell being disrupted by a physical force outside of his body, it could be draining. His limp posture probably came as a result of that. “Keep your eyes open. Just like that, good job.”

“Fuck,” Rafael breathes out, voice faltering at the end. He swallows roughly and tilts his head back, eyes falling shut. “Stings.” He raises a hand and summons light blue tendrils to his fingertips, but his hand trembles too much to bring the magic to his fingers and it dies down. Sonny quiets his frustrated grunts with a touch to his arm.

“Let me.” With his free hand, Sonny reaches out and pats a hand gleaming with magic on Rafael’s chest. The cyan strands of the spell cross over the wound and apply the healing properties instantly. The shallow breaths slow down and the only proof of the lizard person’s attack is the ripped clothing. He wasn’t experienced with magic, but he always had a healing spell ready in case he needed to use it. “That should be enough for now, yeah? It’s not as powerful as your magic, but it’s something.”

Rafael steals a glance at his abdomen before he rests his head against the ground again and sighs. He looks sickly, his face pale and stained with sweat, but he sounds okay, hopefully sore more than anything. “I liked this suit.”

Sonny chuckles softly. “Of course you did. You should stop getting hurt when I’m around.”

Rafael eyes him with disbelief and a small huff. “If you stop putting me in danger.”

_ “I love it when you guys flirt, I do, but if you don’t help us fight this thing, I’ll feed you both to it.” _

_ “Fine.” _

Rafael eyes the trio a few feet away from them. Nick has successfully grappled it to its knees but its bucking makes it more difficult to stay on. “They need help,” he states.

“You need rest,” Sonny says almost as quickly. “You just had your magic disrupted by a separate force. Didn’t you say that you could seriously harm yourself if that happened?”

“I said I could limit my magic use until I rest.”

“Still counts. Besides, you were just healed. Save up for bigger fights just in case.”

Rafael scowls. “Are you trying to get rid of me? You’re very persistent.”

Sonny shrugs and looks away. “I care about you. I want you to be safe.”

_ “What did I just say?” _

With a long sigh, Rafael nods and motions for Sonny to help him sit up. Sonny tugs on his arm to get him to sit up and all but scoots close to him when he sways uneasily. His teammates need his help; he wouldn’t leave Rafael here if there were other threats nearby. But Rafael steadying himself against the toppled trunk of a tree is enough reassurance for now.

“Promise me this,” Rafael says as Sonny grabs his sword and checks his shield is strapped properly to his arm. “You’ll come back in one piece so I can thank you properly.”

Sonny smiles at the opportunities that could open up for them—kissing, mostly, definitely—and holds out his hand to seal the deal. Rafael takes it, his palm warm and buzzing with pulses of magic. Sonny sends up a quick prayer to the god Tyr, his patron, to watch over this man. “Consider it done.”

* * *

“You still manage to surprise me.”

Sonny looks up from helping Mike put away leftovers; Rafael comes up beside him, one arm snaking around Sonny’s waist. They had finished off the lizard with the four of them before making it out of the forest and calling it quits for the night at a campfire they had set up. “What makes you say that?”

“Because in the middle of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, you still manage to make me feel like I’m the only person around.”

Sonny smiles bashfully and turns so he can pull Rafael into a proper hug and snuggle against his neck. “That’s because you are. I wasn’t gonna leave you there.”

Rafael hums and leans back to look up at him. He reaches up to brush away a stray gray strand from Sonny’s forehead. “You know you don’t have to. It’s a role-playing game for a reason. You can be whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be what you already are.”

“I know, but I wanna help you out whenever I can. Even if it’s in a game. I would end up doing it anyway.”

Rafael smiles at that and kisses Sonny, thankful for the chance to have such a wonderful man beside him. “You’re sweet.”

“It’s not sweet, it’s sappy,” Amanda huffs, “and it’s gross.” She nudges past them to open the cabinets and put away the clean dishes.

Sonny snorts and leans in close so that only his boyfriend can hear. “Jealousy.”

Amanda whips around when Rafael chokes on a laugh; Mike speaks up from digging around his junk drawer for a clip to close the large bag of tortilla chips. “To be fair, this was tame if you compare it to our usual campaigns,” he points out. “They weren’t flirting the entire time.”

“We don’t flirt the  _ entire _ time,” Rafael argues. “I dabble in banter. He just gives it as good as he takes it.”

Mike gives him an incredulous look. “That’s how you flirt.”

Sonny laughs and nuzzles harder against Rafael when he sputters in protest. “Can’t argue with that.”

No, Rafael muses as he leans into Sonny’s chest a bit more, he cannot.

**Author's Note:**

> For fun and/or for reference for anyone who is interested: each of their characters' names, race and class!
> 
> -Mike: Tam Fildiri, human paladin  
> -Rafael: Arcas Pevrel, "human" sorcerer  
> -Amanda: Dara Norodiir, elf ranger  
> -Nick: Gloom Tryphon, tiefling rogue  
> -Sonny: Marth Terawind, human paladin


End file.
